Chinese inflation picks up in August but still below target

BEIJING

People buy vegetables at a market in Xiamen, in China's eastern Fujian province on September 9, 2026. (AFP Photo)

China's consumer and producer prices picked up slightly last month but remained below target, official data showed on Sept. 9, as the world's second-largest economy grapples with weak domestic demand.

The consumer price index came in at 0.8 percent in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which was up from 0.5 percent in July and in line with a forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Beijing has battled a persistent slump in domestic spending since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CPI has remained below the current target of 2 percent for more than three years, slipping into negative territory several times during that period.

The weak activity has presented challenges to leaders aiming to maintain growth momentum, even as exports and various high-tech sectors perform strongly.

Prices paid at the factory gate also picked up in August, the NBS figures showed, expanding 3.8 percent year-on-year.

That was faster than July's 3.5 percent and topped the 3.6 percent forecast in the Bloomberg survey.

The readings come day after data showed China's imports and exports surging last month.

Overseas shipments have been boosted this year by heightened global demand for technology products amid the artificial intelligence boom.

Beijing is targeting economic growth of 4.5-5 percent this year, a pace that would outstrip most developed economies but rank among the lowest in decades for China.

The economy expanded just 4.3 percent in the second quarter, missing forecasts and representing the weakest pace in more than three years.